Chapter 9, Section 4
The War’s Impact
Economy in Turmoil
• Big Ideas:
• Once the war was over, production
slowed down, soldiers returned home
looking for work, and prices began to
increase.
The Economy in Turmoil
• The 2 million veterans of WWI
returned home not only to parades
and celebrations, but also to an
economy that was slowing down.
• People began buying items that
were rationed during the war
causing prices to increase.
• This lead to an increase in the cost
of living: the price of essentials
people need to survive.
Inflation Leads to Strikes
• Unions gained more members and
greater organization power during the
war, but businesses wanted to rollback
the power of the unions.
• This lead to numerous conflicts
between labor and business.
• By the end of 1919 there had been
more than 3,600 strikes involving more
than 4 million workers.
• The first major strike was the Seattle
General Strike. A general strike
involves workers in a community not
just workers in a particular industry.
• Other major strikes occurred around
the nation.
Racial Unrest
• Many people blamed African
Americans for taking “white” jobs.
• The racial tension resulted in mob
violence and riots.
• The worst riot occurred in Chicago.
• Angry African Americans
attacked white neighborhoods
after a black boy was drowned
at a whites-only beach. The
riots lasted two weeks and 23
blacks and 15 whites were killed.
• Many blacks who fought in WWI
felt betrayed by the country for
which they fought.
The Red Scare
• Big Ideas:
• The spread of communist
revolutions in Eastern
Europe alarmed Americans
who feared that Labor
unrest at home could lead to
a communist revolution in
the US.
The Red Scare
• Communists were seen as
untrustworthy after the Russians
pulled out of WWI.
• The ideas of communism are in
direct contrast with the American
ideals of individualism and
capitalism.
• The labor strikes of 1919 caused
Americans to fear that
communists might seize power in
the US.
• This era of uncertainty and
panic over communism is called
the Red Scare.
The Red Scare
• The fears of many Americans
were reinforced after 30
package bombs were mailed to
prominent US citizens such as
US Attorney General A. Mitchell
Palmer.
• Palmer formed a special group
within the Justice Department
called the General Intelligence
Division (later known as the FBI)
headed by J. Edgar Hoover to
investigate the bombings and
riots.
The Red Scare
• Palmer was a xenophobe and
vowed to “sweep the nation
clean of such alien filth.”
• President Harding saw the “red
scare” as counterproductive and
released many suspects from jail
including union leader Eugene
Debs.
• Congress passed anti-immigration
bills throughout the 1920s ending
the era of unrestricted mass
immigration.
The Election of 1920
• By the time the election of
1920, Americans were weary of
violence, unrests, and
uncertainty.
• The Democrat candidates,
Ohio Governor James M. Cox
and his running mate Franklin
D. Roosevelt, campaigned on
a continuation of progressive
ideals.
• Republican Warren G.
Harding and his running mate
Calvin Coolidge called for a
“return to normalcy.”
The Election of 1920
• Harding and Coolidge won in
a landslide victory trouncing
Cox and Roosevelt 404 to
127.